In 1951, Czechoslovakia received the technical data package for the Soviet SPSh flare pistol. This was a simple single shot break-action 26.5mm signal flare launcher, and they put it into production from 1952 through 1958. However, it was made with mediocre materials and the guns wore out in as few a 1,000 rounds fired. In 1966 the CZ factory at Uhersky Brod began a program to improve the guns and make a new batch.
They improved the steel alloy used, enlarged the barrel pivot hinge, chrome lined the bore, and changed the finish to enamel paint over phosphating. The service life was improved to 3,500 rounds, and 24,808 were made in 1968 and 1969 (with the last few assembled from parts in 1970).
In 1980 another production run was deemed necessary, and CZ made a few minot improvements before restarting manufacture. The barrel latch and hammer were made a bit more ergonomic and the grips textured. Another 40,009 were made between 1981 and 1983. The two examples in today’s video are surplus from Slovakian Army inventory, recently imported into the US by RTI.
Thanks to Royal Tiger Imports for providing these two pieces for filming!
Thanks to Landofliberty.cz for the Jan Žižka shirt:
https://www.landofliberty.cz
And even cooler:
http://archive.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1026
I would encourage Ian to seek one of these out, if only for the entertainment value of watching it at work…
Flare pistols and other suchlike projectors are inherently boring as hell to most people. If they scratch your particular firearms itch, you’re in a small class of similarly-minded folk.
Having said that, I have to admit that the few times I’ve encountered flare pistol collectors who have that “itch”, I’ve nearly caught it myself. There was a guy who frequented the Lake County (Illinois) Gun Show back when I was able to visit it that had an extensive display board setup of all the WWII flare guns he could get his hands on, and that was a considerable number. It was fascinating to look at the way the Germans went, from relatively cute little designs to something that was quite literally an anti-tank pistol, complete with shaped-charge warhead. I had to hand it to him; he had his collector’s act together, and created a very easily understood display/collection that you could see rivaled that of an actual museum. I have to wonder what became of all that work… This was back in the late 1980s when I saw it, and he was a seriously ancient personage at the time, sooo…
That particular gun show has to be acknowledged as one of the stranger and more informative ones I ever went to. The whole “catchment area” for it was the same region of Illinois that everyone used to excoriate as being full of “Illinois Nazis”, and there were a bunch of truly strange people who regularly attended the place. You could see Winchester collectors with massive displays, and a few tables over, some nutter would have literal concentration camp memorabilia on display that they’d had to sue to get the right to actually do. The combination of “wholesome” and “disturbing” was jarring… And, for the record? Nobody liked the guy with the concentration camp stuff, who claimed he was showing it to “honor the liberators”, but… Yeah. Weird thing to see, in the “wholesome Midwest”.
I remember that the “sawn-off shotgun” the Joker (Jack Nicholson) used to shoot the TV set in Batman (1989) was actually a WW2 German Krieghoff Model L Kriegsmarine double-barreled flare pistol;
https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Batman_(1989)#Krieghoff_Model_L_flare_pistol
In one of the later Star Wars movies, one character had a “blaster” that was actually a WW2 Walther Model SL, another “double-barreled” Kriegsmarine flare launcher;
https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/lot-452585.aspx
Yes, all stainless steel.
I have to admit it’s one of the very few “flare guns” I would love to have. Just because it’s such a work of art.
cheers
eon
There’s so much of the German oeuvre of esoteric weapons that I’d love to have examples of, just because of the sheer artistry of the machine work invested into them.
One of the things I think worth looking at is the worksmanship and all the rest of what went into the various nation’s weapons. I think that for sheer artistry expressed in steel, you have to give a lot of points to the Germans for the level of worksmanship and skill shown in their basic issue weapons; a lot of other nations had similarly skilled workers in the weapons industry, but they were not afforded the opportunities to demonstrate that skill in the general-issue weapons. Overall, I’d have to rate the Germans as having a higher and broader level of craftsmanship displayed in their weapons than others, especially in WWI. WWII, not so much; they’d gotten the word about mass-production by then, but WWI and the run-up to WWII…? Oh, dear Lord… The sheer esthetics of it all, the wonder of the fine machining displayed for even the most ridiculous purposes.
Luftwaffe and Krieghoff collaborations? Exquisite. I got to handle a Krieghoff Luftwaffe Drilling from one of their survival kits, once upon a time; it was far and away one of the most insanely pleasurable moments I’ve had with a weapon, just sheer esthetic joy to handle. Kind of like some of their Luger pistols, TBH.
One of my “dream guns” would be a drilling with 12-gauge double side-by-side with a center rifle barrel in (don’t laugh) .30-30 WCF.
It would take care of at least 90% of the hunting and survival chores likely to arise in the Lower 48.
(I’ve noticed that people who denigrate the “thirty-thirty” never volunteer to stand in front of it.)
The Stoeger catalogs in the 1950s listed drillings and vierlings (four-barrel types) by Ferlach and others, many of them not requiring special orders. One interesting one in the 1954 edition was side-by-side 16-gauge, center 7.9x57Rmm, and tucked in just under the left-hand 16 tube, 5.6x35Rmm, or as we’d call it here, .22 Hornet.
Back in the day, those were considered guns for ladies, along with similar setups in 20-gauge.
As far as “mechanical artistry in steel”, the Parabellum and Mauser C/96 automatic pistols pretty much define the term. Just detail-stripping either one today is an education in design elegance. Among other things, they only go back together one way- the right way.
cheers
eon
“(…)2-gauge double side-by-side with(…)rifle barrel in(…).30-30 WCF.(…)”
I am not aware about such fire-arm already existing, but МЦ 140 https://arcohunter.ru/view_kombinirovanoe.php?id=4 seems to be quite close with 12 gauge + 9×53 + 12 gauge
For another long flare launcher see 37mm H&R Flare Rifle https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/world-firearms/37mm-h-r-flare-rifle-lend-lease-4326/
Not funny at all. You can still buy .30-30 and 12-gauge in any Walmart. I’d like one with some clever back bored shotgun barrels and a 1-10″ rifle barrel, maybe all in 18.5″. I’d carry that.
Uhmm… why do you assume that mention of 37mm H&R Flare Rifle is attempted joke?
Bart, maybe this king of all flare guns (rifles) can also be used with 12ga full length barrel insert
“(…)made between 1981 and 1983.(…)”
This is surprisingly late for 1944 design, but good recommendation for Shpagin (yes, this flare pistols and PPSh were designed by same man).
Was might be even more incredible is that designed spawned Yugoslav SSU under-water pistol, see 1st photo from top http://www.dogswar.ru/oryjeinaia-ekzotika/strelkovoe-oryjie/3508-podvodnyi-pistolet-s.html which used cartridge with piston (see 3rd photo from top) to launch elongated projectile.
I loved them. During New Year midnight they where everywhere. Normally, there was a problem to buy a fireworks during communism, exept homemade and som disasters. But every policeman, every soldier, every reserve soldier, or so called People Miliatia – Ľudové milície, Oldtimers in factory securities… sky was beautiful. But my father was alway angry, he was a policeman and in fact drunk idiot sometimes set something in fire, or did hurt somebode. He was a policeman and he never brig one home… As a youngster I was pretty angry 😀